Green Gal Pick: Sew Natural Watch Me Grow One Size Pocket Diaper Review and Giveaway!

Chrissie over at Sew Natural Diaper Company was kind enough to send me one of her fabulous Watch Me Grow One Size Pocket diapers to review. As you all know, the majority of my stash is pocket diapers and I really do love them. I was so thrilled to try out the white Watch Me Grow that I washed it that night and had it on my daughter first thing in the morning. Notice the morning bed head (no, her hair is not in pigtails - it is stuck that way from the hairdo the day before):

As you can see, the Watch Me Grow diaper fits my daughter very well. I really love that it is a trim fitting diaper and I was even able to put jeans on her that day. It is not only trim enough to fit under jeans, but it also is trim in the crotch area. I like that in a diaper because it means it is more comfortable for my baby. Some diapers are ridiculously wide and I think that can be really annoying in a baby who is learning to walk, crawl, or run.

On the smallest setting with lovely crossover buttons:

(Chrissie is changing the name over from DewDrops Handmade)

One the largest setting:

Inside:

The trimness doesn't affect performance a all. This diaper held up to a 5 hour span when daughter fell asleep on her bedroom floor one afternoon. I usually worry when I don't change her right before a nap, but I didn't have to stress at all with the Watch Me Grow. She woke up with a very heavy diaper, but she was dry, her clothes were dry, and her carpet was dry. Yay!!!

I love the this fits from 8 pounds all the way up to 28 pounds. That is great on the wallet (especially since these diapers are priced at just $16 a piece -- great price for a reliable pocket) and the earth! The inner absorbent layer is Sew Natural's ROBIN tri-fold insert. This insert has six absorbent layers of bamboo french terry and 3 layers of cotton velour. I have some of the velour inserts and they are S-O-F-T soft.

Chrissie was kind enough to answer my obnoxious questions and it really makes me love small mom businesses even more.

What got you interested in cloth diapers/cloth diaper making?

I always knew that I would cloth diaper my children. Initially I began with just prefolds and covers - I was already overwhelmed with making clothes, blankets, and enjoying our first baby to really think about actually making the diapers myself! When I found out we were expecting our 4th I knew I was going to need to restock our diaper stash so I decided I would make my own. I have gone through several trial diapers to end up here and I'm constantly working to make my pattern better.

What inspired the new diaper design?

The new diaper design was inspired by the fact that I want people to understand that cloth diapering is EASY, and I was hoping to make it as painless as possible! I used to avoid AIOs because they take so long to wash and dry, it completely defeated the purpose to me. So I incorporated some new fabrics developed by Wazoodle Fabric company designed specifically to increase the effiency of diapering! I think that the new diaper brings the trimness and ease of a disposable and the practicality and eco-friendliness of cloth diapering together nicely.

What do you hope for your business in the future?
I really hope that I can continue to grow my company, so that in 5 years when my youngest enters kindergarten it can be a full time job for me. Eventually I would love to open and fabric/sewing store here. . . but for now I have babies to raise!

WIN IT!

Christine has generously offered to host a giveaway to one LUCKY Baby To Green reader! The winner will get to choose a Sew Natural AIO in their choice of color and size!

To enter each entry must have an email address in the comment or visible in your public profile. No email address = no winning. Each comment is worth 1 entry into the drawing.

Mandatory Entry: You must be a follower of Baby To Green via Google Friend Connect and you must be a follower of Chrissie's Blog at Naturally Sewn. After we are all friends, leave a comment saying that you will be our friend forever!That counts as your mandatory first entry.

Extra Entries (only after Mandatory Entry has been entered):

• Fan me on Facebook.
• Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter ID.
• Tweet this ONCE per day and leave the permalink in your comment. "Win a @SewNaturalDipe AIO #clothdiaper from Sew Natural Diaper Co. and @Baby2Green http://bit.ly/cvUSrR"
• Go to Sew Natural Diaper Company's Etsy shop and pick one item you LOVE and come back here to tell me what it is.
• Follow Sew Natural Diaper Company on Twitter and comment with your Twitter ID.
• Stop by Naturally Sewn and comment on any post.

So that is at least SEVEN chances to win. Be sure to pay attention on Twitter and Facebook. I may or may not be giving out bonus entries throughout the week.

Deadline for entries is Wednesday March 24, 2010 at noon Eastern Time. All entries will be checked and any entry that doesn't qualify will be removed before the drawing. The winner will be drawn via Random.org for fairness. Winner will be notified and has 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond, a second drawing will be held.

Disclaimer: I did receive a sample product for review.

This does not affect the review of this product. I was not paid for this review and the opinions are mine and mine alone.

Green Gal Pick: Fridge-It Odor Absorber Review and Giveaway ***CLOSED***

As everyone knows -- diapers stink. In my home there are a LOT of diapers. My daughter uses cloth diapers which I keep in a pail liner inside a regular trashcan until it is washing time. But, I also have my own home daycare and most of them uses disposable diapers which end up in my trash can each day. Needless to say, by the end of the day my hallway STINKS. Since I do not use chemical air fresheners and the weather isn't quite warm enough to open the windows and let some of the stink out, I am stuck with a stinky house until the end of the day when I can take out the trash and wash diapers. I knew that there had to be a green way to control odors inside the home without spraying toxic chemicals to cover up the smell, but I couldn't find anything for a long time. Then I saw Innofresh's blog.

As I read, I realized that their line of eco-friendly, fragrance and chemical free line of activated carbon odor absorbers was exactly what I needed. Another huge plus, these are made right here in the USA. Which makes them greener because they do not have to ship from halfway around the world. I do not use chemical cleaning products in my home for the safety and health of my family, my dog, and my daycare children. A find like this was something I needed to have ASAP! Unlike other products that just mask odors, their activated carbon odor absorbers actually eliminate the odors by absorbing and neutralizing - so the odor is permanently eliminated - not just covered up like other "air fresheners." So I contacted Bruce over at Innofresh and he generously offered to send me some of their awesome odor absorbers to review.

So once I received the odor absorbers, I out them to the ultimate test -- well my daycare kids did. I stuck one at the bottom of the garbage can and put in a fresh bag. Within an hour, there were 5 soiled diapers in that can. For the first time, I could walk through the room without smelling anything at all! I also clipped one to the lid of my daughter's diaper pail. That pail sat for 3 days before I washed the diapers and there was no odor in or around the pail. Usually I have to take the pail down into the basement each night and store the dirties down there until washing, but not anymore!

Since I love to put things to the test, I also put one in our fridge, freezer, and my husband's lunchbox. My fridge stinks like onion because I use a lot of onions and garlic when I cook. And that old box of baking soda just isn't cutting it anymore. Nothing is worse than putting butter on your bagel in the morning and your butter tastes like old onion -- ICK! My freezer had that lovely smell of freezer burn -- at least I think that is what it is. I'm not actually sure what freezer burn smells like. I wanted to see how long it would take to remove the odors from the fridge, freezer, and lunchbox. I clipped these absorbers in at 8 in the morning and by lunchtime the odors in all three locations were completely gone. I was amazed.

Now, if only I could get my dog to wear one on his collar...

BUY IT!

You can buy Innofresh Odor Absorbers directly through their website or use their site to find a retailer near you. Use coupon code BK409B to receive an automatic 10% discount on purchases made on line at www.Innofresh.com This coupon code must be entered into the required coupon field during checkout.

WIN IT!

Bruce over at Innofresh generously offered to give a FREE six pack of FRIDGE IT cubes to one lucky Baby To Green reader!

To enter each entry must have an email address in the comment or visible in your public profile. No email address = no winning. Each comment is worth 1 entry into the drawing.

MANDATORY ENTRY:
Leave a comment telling me your "stinky" story. Make me smell the stink people.


Extra Entries (only after Mandatory Entry has been entered):

• Tell me the closest retailer to you where you can buy Innofresh products.
• Follow me via Google Friend Connect on the sidebar and leave a comment.
• Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter ID.
• Follow Innofresh on Twitter (say hi to Bruce while you are there!) and leave a comment with your Twitter ID.
• Tweet this ONCE and leave the permalink in your comment. "Kick stink to the curb with @Innofresh and @Baby2Green #eco #clothdiaper http://bit.ly/cd9ZXa"
• Friend me on Facebook and leave a comment with your Facebook name.

So that is at least SEVEN chances to win. Be sure to pay attention on Twitter and Facebook. I may or may not be giving out bonus entries throughout the week.

Deadline for entries is Wednesday March 17, 2010 at noon Eastern Time. All entries will be checked and any entry that doesn't qualify will be removed before the drawing. The winner will be drawn via Random.org for fairness. Winner will be notified and has 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond, a second drawing will be held.

Disclaimer: I did receive Innofresh products for review.

This does not affect the review of this product. I was not paid for this review and the opinions are mine and mine alone.

Green Gal Pick: Flip One Size Diaper System Review

Another new style of diaper that I tried out recently was the Flip One Size Diaper System from Diaper Junction. Bryana at Diaper Junction generously offered to send me the Flip system in Ribbit to try out.

When it arrived, I was so anxious to try it out. First thing I noticed was that it is a one size snap diaper -- HUGE PLUS! I love one size diapers and I love snaps. Snaps are my preference because they do not snag on other diapers in the washer and dryer and they hold up much better to frequent use.

Next thing that I noticed was the Stay Dry Insert. It has a moisture wicking suede material on one side to go against baby's skin which is great because I like when my daughter feels dry. It has another 3 layers of microfiber to keep that moisture contained. The Flip is VERY easy to put together. Just 2 quick tucks and the liner is in place and you are ready to diaper baby.

If you prefer natural materials, the Flip offers an organic cotton insert as well. They also offer a disposable diaper insert for the times when cloth just isn't an option.

I love the fit of this cloth diaper because it is trim, which is rare in almost any cloth diaper. My daughter wore this diaper for 3 hours without a single leak! She put it to the ultimate test by having a massive would-be blowout as well. I say would-be blowout because the Flip contained the entire mess. No pulling inserts out or fastening velcro laundry tabs. Just rinsed off the solids and threw the entire thing in the diaper pail. With the Flip, you can also just replace the insert and reuse the cover! How great is that?

Washing and drying was a breeze. I just washed with my other diapers and the insert came out perfectly clean and stink free and I hung the Flip cover to dry. The weather is finally warming up so I am excited to line dry the Flip. I know it will dry quickly outside which is great for us.

I think that the Flip system is a great was for someone to try out cloth diapering or a great alternative for vacations when many cloth diaperers use disposables because they may not have a washer available. It offers lots of great options for everyday use and it is a very affordable and easy to care for system!

BUY IT!

You can purchase your own Flip Diaper System at Diaper Junction!


Check out Diaper Junction's 30 Day Test Drive as well. It is a great program that lets you try out a variety of diapers RISK FREE!

Disclaimer: I did receive one Flip cloth diaper in Ribbit for review. This does not affect the review of this product. I was not paid for this review and the opinions are mine and mine alone.

Green Gal Pick: Cutey Baby Modern Cloth Diaper Review

When I was asked to have my daughter test drive the new Cutey Baby Modern cloth diaper, I was super excited. I was excited because I have never tried an AIO diaper. I was always put off by the drying time and I also felt like it would be really hard to keep an AIO clean because of all those layers that you can't see. I just see traditional AIOs as a HUGE energy waster because many take two drying cycles or more.

We had the chance to try out the Big Pink Dot Cutey Baby and it is ADORABLE.

The Cutey Baby Modern cloth diaper is much, much different than a traditional AIO. The first thing I noticed was how soft the outside of the diaper was. Not like a PUL feeling, but more like cotton. It was really nice. Then I opened the diaper and saw that it was velcro. Now, velcro is usually a minus for me in the cloth diaper category because I have had a ton of velcro diapers make diaper chains in the washer, pull at my other diapers and snag the material, and the velcro wears really, really fast and makes some diapers almost useless after just a few months. But, this diaper is different because the sticky part of the velcro comes off for washing! How smart is that?

The inner of the Cutey Baby has a stay dry, moisture wicking material to keep baby dry and comfortable. It also has a large cutout in the middle of the diaper that you don't normally see. This helps to keep messes inside the diaper and also allows the inner part of the diaper to float out during a wash and dry to get really clean and dry super fast.

The adjustments for size are on the wings of the diaper. Just a simple snap system to make it a custom fit for your baby. My daughter is a teeny tiny thing at 19 pounds at 17 months, so I adjusted it to the smaller setting and it was a great fit.

So after using this diaper consistently for two weeks now, I have to say that I love it. I hate when it is dirty because it is absorbent (lasts through my daughter's 4 hour naps), soft, easy to use, and so cute. A lot of great ideas went into this diaper and it shows because it is truly a different diaper that works without fail time and time again!

BUY IT!

You can purchase your own Cutey Baby Modern Cloth Diaper on Amazon.

Disclaimer: I did receive one Cutey Baby Modern Cloth Diaper for review. This does not affect the review of this product. I was not paid for this review and the opinions are mine and mine alone.

Thirsties Diaper

Thisties is the first cover I bought to go over fitteds. I had heard great things about the Thrirsties brand and it was a VERY affordable cover. I paid about $9 after a coupon code for this cover which I think is an excellent price for such a quality product.

The PUL is soft on the outside and the laundry tabs and velcro are strong, which means no diaper chain in the washer. My favorite part of the Thirsties diaper cover is the inner leg gussets. My daughter is a skinny little thing and has chicken legs to match. So any other cover would not cover her diaper the way a Thirsties does. I have not once had a leak with this cover and it still looks brand new despite that it is the only diaper cover I own and it gets washed very frequently. I also love that this cover dries in about 5 minutes outside and about 10 hanging inside.

Perfection in a cover. In fact, I am so pleased with this cover that I never bothered to buy another cover in the past year! I strongly suggest you get yourself one of these covers (well, not yourself, but your kid) because the quality and price are just the beginning of wonderful things about this cover!

Pixie Caps and a Giveaway

A few years back when I started designing knitting patterns I was most determined to find a simple and classic Pixie Cap to knit for my baby boy. The pixie cap is a style that totally embodies childhood with its impish peaked hood and face framing rim. As far as I'm concerned, a red Pixie Cap is just about the most classic hat a child can wear and my boys had one in every size and every color. Once I started playing around with designs I realized that pixie caps are really quite simple to knit and easy to master after one go. If you can knit and purl (and make a buttonhole) you can knit a pixie cap.

Every now and then I will get a lovely email from someone letting me know that they like one of my knitting patterns and they send me lovely photos. The pattern that I get the most emails about is the Pixie Cap pattern from my book and also the Tassel Pixie Cap pattern from my PDF pattern collection. Some of the people that email me also send photos and I wanted to share a few of them with you as they are too good to keep all to myself :)


Ali Bloom of India Bloom Photography has taken these beautiful photos of the Tassel Pixie Cap she knit for her daughter in a beautiful natural gray yarn. This photo was taken last year and this year her daughter needed a new hat soooooo...



this year it's all about pink and getting some wheels!

Another cute Pixie Cap is a photo just sent to me this week by Liz who knitted the Vintage Pixie Cap from my book. Liz emailed me just to show me the red Pixie Cap she knit for her daughter and she was especially thrilled because she is new to knitting and found the pattern quite easy and do-able because there are no decreases or increases.


Maybe I am high on Pixie Caps but I'm in the mood for a giveaway! The first 10 people to leave comments in this post will get a free PDF of my Tassel Pixie Cap Knitting Pattern (below) emailed to them. Please leave your email in the post! (PDF patterns will be sent out on March 8th or thereafter)



********winners were sent the knitting pattern on March 8, 2010********

Pixie Caps and a Giveaway

A few years back when I started designing knitting patterns I was most determined to find a simple and classic Pixie Cap to knit for my baby boy. The pixie cap is a style that totally embodies childhood with its impish peaked hood and face framing rim. As far as I'm concerned, a red Pixie Cap is just about the most classic hat a child can wear and my boys had one in every size and every color. Once I started playing around with designs I realized that pixie caps are really quite simple to knit and easy to master after one go. If you can knit and purl (and make a buttonhole) you can knit a pixie cap.

Every now and then I will get a lovely email from someone letting me know that they like one of my knitting patterns and they send me lovely photos. The pattern that I get the most emails about is the Pixie Cap pattern from my book and also the Tassel Pixie Cap pattern from my PDF pattern collection. Some of the people that email me also send photos and I wanted to share a few of them with you as they are too good to keep all to myself :)


Ali Bloom of India Bloom Photography has taken these beautiful photos of the Tassel Pixie Cap she knit for her daughter in a beautiful natural gray yarn. This photo was taken last year and this year her daughter needed a new hat soooooo...



this year it's all about pink and getting some wheels!

Another cute Pixie Cap is a photo just sent to me this week by Liz who knitted the Vintage Pixie Cap from my book. Liz emailed me just to show me the red Pixie Cap she knit for her daughter and she was especially thrilled because she is new to knitting and found the pattern quite easy and do-able because there are no decreases or increases.


Maybe I am high on Pixie Caps but I'm in the mood for a giveaway! The first 10 people to leave comments in this post will get a free PDF of my Tassel Pixie Cap Knitting Pattern (below) emailed to them. Please leave your email in the post! (PDF patterns will be sent out on March 8th or thereafter)



********winners were sent the knitting pattern on March 8, 2010********

Kissaluvs Marvels

I recently purchased a bunch of diapers and I had a free Kissaluvs Marvels One Size Fiteed added to my order with a code. Score on a free diaper! I chose the Mocca Swirl print shown below for my daughter.

I have been using this diaper for about a month now and I have to say that it is a great fitted. After countless washing and dryings, it is still super soft. Not to sound weird, but every time it comes out of the dryer, I rest it against my cheek because that warm, soft bamboo velour fabric just calls to me. I wish I had a pillow that was as nice as the inside of that diaper. Or maybe it's just because I do my diaper laundry at night and I am generally very tired by the time I start putting the diapers away. Either way -- it feels like heaven.

My girl is tiny -- just 19 pounds at 17 months -- so I snapped down the rise for her and was happily surprised that it didn't make the diaper super bulky like other fitted snap downs do. I put girl down for a 4 hour nap and she woke up without a leak. She is a belly sleeper, so this is a good test for a diaper in our house.

I was also very happy with the drying time. I think the microfiber inner core helps cut down on the time it takes to dry which is a huge plus for me since I usually line dry in the warmer months.

All in all, this is a solid fitted diaper to own. My only hangup is the price -- $24.95 for a fitted made with microfiber and bamboo is hard to justify since you can find all natural fiber fitteds for the same price. I think that if the price was a bit lower, I would actually pay for one of these diapers.